Skip to main content

Siri, can you hear me? Not at CES

Hey Siri, you there?

More than 4,000 tech companies smooshed into the cavernous halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center this week for CES, like robotic sardines in the world’s largest tin. But conspicuously absent from them, yet again, was the world’s top tech company: Apple. What gives? Walking the halls of CES – and boy, did I ever walk – no one was talking about Siri.

News flash, Siri: Parents have been training their kids for years to talk to Alexa..

Alexa was the big story at last year’s CES, injecting herself into more stories than Donald Trump. Speakers, watches, appliances, robots, everything conceivable is now Alexa compatible and listening. Also listening was Google, which clearly got the message, staging an all-out assault on CES. The company wrapped the Vegas monorail, threw up huge ads at every intersection, and set up a massive play space in the parking lot to demonstrate the multiple ways Google’s voice assistant is evolving.

This, year, Alexa was still everywhere, but it was clear that Google won CES.

The one name not on anyone’s lips? Siri. I didn’t see a single “talk to Siri” sign, and I was looking.

Falling behind

Apple has traditionally skipped CES in favor of its own splashy events, which allow the company to control the conversation completely. With journalists fawning and brands scrambling to be part of the conversation, this strategy works. Apple doesn’t like sharing the stage, and has used this strategy to sell hundreds of millions of iPhones and all their related accessories. But at CES for the past two years, other companies are building bigger, better ecosystems – and Siri hasn’t evolved to keep up.

Apple Homepod
Apple
Apple

Consider the humble smart speaker. Apple’s been working on one since 2014, painstakingly experimenting with a variety of designs and prototypes before arriving at the HomePod – which still isn’t out. Meanwhile, Amazon has cranked out half a dozen different Echo models over the past three years, which have become the de facto standard for smart speakers. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, Apple’s strategy centered around education: Get kids familiar with the interface in school and you’ll build customers for life. News flash, Siri: Parents have been training their kids for years to talk to Alexa. Maybe you could ask your peeps to step it up?

Apple plans to launch the HomePod in early 2018. It may be too late.

Second-class citizen

HomeKit is Apple’s answer to the smart home market, offering an easy, Siri-powered interface to your lights, locks, and Lutrons. Apple’s site claims that “over 50 brands worldwide are committed to providing accessories that are compatible with the HomeKit framework.” That number may seem a little underwhelming to you, with good reason. For years, Apple made manufacturers jump through hoops to earn the “Works with HomeKit” label. Part of that was a special coprocessor Apple required in products, presenting extra cost and headaches for manufacturers. It was easier (and cheaper) to skip the chip, and HomeKit. Sorry, Siri.

“Pure Apple arrogance.”

In August, Apple announced that it would allow manufacturers to begin adding HomeKit without the chip. Yep, turns out Apple can accomplish all the stuff it does through software alone. So … why was there a chip in the first place? I’m no hardware engineer, but The Register has a theory: “The decision to insist that third parties incorporate a special chipset just to be allowed to work within its eco-system is pure Apple arrogance.”

But forget about why. What’s more important is the ramifications. The added cost and complexity of  working with HomeKit meant support in fewer devices. It was just easier to work with Amazon and Google. Meanwhile the rise of voice assistants has powered smart home adoption over the last year; we were hard-pressed to find a smart home device at CES that doesn’t interact with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. This means HomeKit has remained a second-class citizen, and without Apple at CES to tout its features, it’s up to Siri herself to tell us what she’s up to.

Siri, can you hear me? Are you there? Maybe next year…?

Jeremy Kaplan
As Editor in Chief, Jeremy Kaplan transformed Digital Trends from a niche publisher into one of the fastest growing…
HomeKit Secure Video: Why it’s great and why you should use it
Customers inspect the new Apple HomePod at an Apple Store on February 9, 2018 in San Francisco, California.

Apple's HomeKit Secure Video is a year or two late to the smart security party, but the company made sure it arrived with plenty of skills, customizations, and algorithmic expertise.

Jumping on the HomeKit bandwagon, HomeKit Secure Video is an Apple-exclusive monitoring suite that you can get access to through an iCloud+ subscription. Offering a range of impressive surveillance features, instant notifications, and geofencing abilities, HomeKit Secure Video checks all the boxes when it comes to safeguarding your home, business, and personal data.

Read more
Can your smart home save you money on homeowners insurance?
Nest devices grouped together on a counter.

Smart home devices provide more than just convenient assistance -- they also help us complete tasks more efficiently and protect our homes. And now, they may actually be able to save you money on your homeowner's insurance.

Homeowners insurance protects or aids you if an incident happens. Yet the best days are when nothing goes wrong, and life is easy for everyone. Smart home devices can be your first line of defense against things that could cause your home harm.

Read more
Alexa can now tell you when a package is delivered
Senior citizen using Alexa to stay connected

Amazon has always wanted to have Alexa become the end-all and be-all assistant. Thanks to a new update, it's one step closer. Alexa can now tell you if it sees a person or a package through one of your security cameras. Also, if you have an Echo Show or a Fire TV, Alexa can automatically pull up a live video feed of the subject.

Amazon recently allowed third-party companies to tap into this new feature by revealing a new API. As a result, companies such as Google, Ring, and Abode have already added person recognition to their video security doorbells. According to Amazon, all of Ring's video doorbells and cameras should be updated now, while Google's Nest Cam Indoor, Nest Cam Outdoor, Nest Cam Floodlight, and Nest Doorbell will receive the update soon. In addition, Abode's IOTA and Outdoor Camera will also receive the update.

Read more